Friday, May 18, 2007

do's and don'ts for health care professionals

Do introduce yourself (I once had a doctor come into a room and start writing on my chest without introducing himself).

Don't look horrified when I tell you I have metastatic breast cancer.

Do ask my permission before turning my test/appointment/treatment into a lesson for a student.

Don't talk about me as though I am not in the room.

Don't ask me questions about my treatment that are irrelevant to the procedure being performed and/or outside your sphere of knowledge.

Don't tell me about your aunt/friend/cousin who was unsuccessfully treated for cancer.

Don't tell me that the above mentioned aunt/friend/cousin was unsuccessfully treated with one of the drugs I have told you has been part of my regimen.

Do thank me for my patience, especially if the test/treatment/procedure took twice as long as it normally would because you are still learning how to do it.

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin